one more time
by MDTM
Summary: Years have passed since the end of the war with the Arrancar, and Ichigo and Orihime have settled down. One day, they come across a child that reminds Orihime of a man that abducted her, yet gave her the biggest gift years ago. [Ichihime and past Ulquihime, minor death fic]


**Hi guys. I've actually had this story in my mind for a while now, but have never really gotten around to writing it. Do prepare yourselves for a rollercoaster of emotions on this story, and enjoy :-)**

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><p><strong>~~Ω~~<strong>

The wind blew, and the chimes started to move on the balcony. Soft classical music accompanied the soft twinkling tune of the chimes. Outside, children ran about playing and shouting, and the sound of traffic was muffled against the tempo of Haydn.

Orihime stretched her legs a little, a novel balanced on her thigh as she did so. She moved a little to adjust herself on her husband's lap, and she picked up the book again. He lowered his head to hers. "How many times have you read that book already?"

The very novel she was reading was One More Chance by James Foster. While it sounded like a romance novel wives like her read during those late lonely nights, it was actually a book about extraterrestrial beings invading Earth on a whim, and the humans overpowered, desperately begging for another chance to live. Orihime liked books of these genres, which fuelled her terribly vivid imagination.

"I never really counted, maybe my 6th time?" she replied, her focus going back to her book. Her husband frowned. He was on a rare day off from work, and he wanted to spend time with his wife. However, she was glued to that weird book. He nuzzled his nose against her neck, his vibrant orange hair tickling her neck. He hummed, his hands reaching to envelop her waist. Orihime didn't say a thing, yet she noticed that she hadn't moved from the same sentence on the page for a while.

He started to kiss her neck, and she moaned. "Orihime?" he whispered against her. She set down her book, and placed her hands on his. "Mmm hmm?"

"I love you, very very much. Please don't ignore me."

She chuckled. Even though they were already in their late-twenties, he still had his boyish charm he possessed, exactly as she had remembered when he was seventeen.

"I love you too, Kurosaki-kun."

She turned around in his lap, and placed her hands on his chest, as he pulled her waist closer him. She stared into his chocolate-brown eyes, something that reminded her so much of her favourite red bean chocolate.

"You're thinking of that red bean chocolate again, aren't you?" he asked, smiling.

She laughed. "How did you guess?"

"Well you had that look you always get when you see anything with red bean paste in it. I can't understand your weird eating fads," he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

She rolled her eyes. It was more like no one understood the wonderful deliciousness of red bean paste. Even her best friend Tatsuki had tried to get her off her obsession for it.

His hands reached for her face. She leaned in closer, moistening her lips as they were a little dry. Just as their lips touched, a rumble shook the floor. They jumped apart, looking towards the window. Right down the horizon, she could see the tall towering black figure.

Ichigo grunted, reaching into his pocket. "A Menos again? They've been appearing a lot lately," he said, taking out his jewel-shaped shinigami badge. He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. "Stay here okay? I'll be back soon," he said before bringing the badge to his chest. His body slumped on the floor as his soul stepped out, clad in the black shinigami robes, Zangestu in his hands. Orihime grabbed his body and laid it on the couch.

"Please be safe," she said under her breath, as he leaped from the window and into the open.

She looked out of the window. No one had seen the giant hollow, but the spiritual pressure from it was making them uncomfortable. She could see the kids from earlier sitting on the curb, some of their palms pressed to their foreheads.

After what seemed like forever, even though it was only ten minutes, she saw the giant figure of the Menos toppled in the distance, and disintegrate. She went back to the couch, expecting Ichigo to be back soon. However, her cellphone rang. She picked it up, and saw Ichigo's face on the screen. She frowned. Why would he be calling her?

She slid her finger over the screen and lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello, Ichigo?" she asked questioningly. He replied almost immediately. "Can you come to the park now?" he asked, his voice sounding rather frazzled. Worry began to seep in. "Is everything okay? Ichigo, are you hurt?" she asked, ready to reach for the pin on her hair.

"No I'm not, it's just...just get here quick, it's urgent."

"Okay...i'll be there in fifteen minutes," she said, grabbing her purse and keys and heading out of their apartment.

The park was a short distance from her apartment so she could walk. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel that something was very wrong, It could just be Ichigo pranking her for some reason,but it didn't feel right. The air suddenly felt very heavy, as the gates of the park loomed in the distance.

She walked inside, and sensed that the spiritual pressure to her right was stronger, most likely the remnants of the Menos. She walked in that direction, until she found herself in the playground for kids. Across the playground was a clearing where she saw the back of Ichigo's head. He was sitting down next to...a kid?

"Kurosaki-kun!" she yelled. Ichigo turned around, and caught sight of her. He got up and jogged briskly towards her. She walked towards him. "What's going on?" she asked, confused. Ichigo looked at her, his face a mixture of worry and shock. She noticed immediately that something was off about him. "Did something happen?" she pressed again, before Ichigo replied her.

"You might...freak out, but please be calm," he told her, before taking her hand and pulling her to the bench, where she could see the figure of the kid still sitting there.

Ichigo stopped behind the bench. "Look, you have to promise me...please keep calm... I'm scared as hell too, but-" he stopped when he realised Orihime's attention was focused behind him, her eyes wide as saucers.

To say she was shocked would have been simple. She found herself staring into that blank gaze cast by those deep green eyes she thought she would never see again. Pale skin, where his little long raven hair framed his face, and those smouldering eyebrows. His face started to frown, as if he was wondering why on earth she was staring at him like that. He looked about ten years old, she was felt the deepest emotions Orihime thought she would never experience again stir in the depths of her heart. Old grief threatened to wash over her mind, but she could only stand still. She felt her hand slowly rise, as if to reach out for that child, just as she had done before, as if she was afraid he was going to disappear.

She became aware of Ichigo shaking her shoulders, as if to snap her out of her trance, but there was only one thing running through her mind now.

_Ulquiorra-kun._

_**~~Ω~~**_

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><p><strong>AN: Please do take a little while to leave a review, it would mean so much to me. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


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